Hello! 

As announced with the release of WikidataCon’s theme for 2021, Reimagining Wikidata from the margins is starting! I invite you all to check out the project’s page here. 

Although Wikidata intends to structure the sum of all human knowledge, we’re still missing Global South and other marginalized communities from the North - both in data and in contributors. Before WikidataCon 2021 later in October, the Reimagining Wikidata from the margins project is taking place as a series of discussions with underrepresented communities to collectively imagine how to decenter Wikidata to be more inclusive and fair in representing their knowledge. This process was designed to address our communitie’s hopes and expectations for a sustainable future for Wikidata.

To bring more clarity on what kind of discussion we’re aiming for with Reimagining Wikidata from the margins, you can find here some starting questions for reflection.

Both underrepresented communities and good allies are welcome to participate in the process!

How will it work? 

We’re starting now a first round of conversations with local groups to better understand the challenges, expectations and perspectives they have in the Wikidata ecosystem. Then, the second round will gather people from different locations discussing topics in common (i.e. engagement with the broad community, language diversity, GLAM processes etc.). After that, we’ll write a document to be released at WikidataCon with the insights from the previous rounds. The idea is to collaboratively build an analytical yet inspiring document that can serve our community beyond WikidataCon itself. You can find our timeline here.

If you want to collaborate, do not hesitate to reach out to us! You can send a message to erica@wmnobrasil.org and then we’ll arrange a meeting or find any other suitable way for collaboration. Mohammed Sadat and I will also actively reach out to some communities and individuals that may be interested in participating in the process. Simultaneous translation may be available so people feel more comfortable speaking their native language during our meetings.

You can also organize local meetings with people from your community to discuss the topics concerning Reimagining Wikidata from the margins and then let us know your insights and perspectives. 

We’ll also release a survey for those of you who want to collaborate with the process, but can’t get involved in conversations. 

You can also help us translate the Reimagining Wikidata from the margins page to your native language so more people can get engaged!

Hope to hear from you soon :)